Lonely at the top

Gai McGrath is a professional company director. She sits is on seven boards. One of those boards has 60 per cent female representation; on another, she is the only woman.

She is well placed to compare the pros and cons of more women on boards.

"To me it feels like the level of debate and constructive dialogue is at a higher level, to where I am sitting on the board and I am the only female there.

"Where it becomes not even noticed, it's not even part of the equation, but it's just 'that's the way we do things around here' — it just allows a better level of debate and dialogue," Ms McGrath says.

The numbers speak for themselves, there is obviously still a glass ceiling in corporate Australia. But the numbers show women add significant value to companies at the board level, so the more diversity we achieve, the better for the economy as a whole.

Diversity breeds success

This chart shows that the companies with the largest market capitalisations have the highest proportion of female board members.

That is not to say that having more women on a company board guarantees a higher stock price, but it does highlight the case for diversity.

It is no coincidence either. A recent study the 30 % Club, using data compiled by PwC and AICD, shows women bring skills to a board that an all-male board will likely lack.

For example, the study notes that overall among Australia's largest companies, "there are more female board members with sales and marketing and consulting experience than male board members" with those skills.

Women lose less money

Stephen Mayne, a director of the Australian Shareholders Association, has been advocating improved corporate governance for publicly listed companies for years now.

His argument for why more women should be on company boards could be seen as controversial.

"Shareholders lose money in over-priced takeovers, and it's often the aggressive men [on the board] who want to dominate their opponent, and who are prepared to take bigger risks."

He argues that women create necessary balance on boards that ultimately leads to better decision making in the complex world of corporate finance, takeovers and mergers.

He says many men are driven by their egos in the middle of a corporate raid, while women think more objectively and strategically.

Dr Kimmel agrees with Stephen Mayne on this point.

He uses Iceland as an example. It was one of the worst hit countries during the global financial crisis. In response, it basically got rid of all the male bank managers and replaced them with women.

"Why? Because they were more sensible," Dr Kimmel says.

"They were making it possible to have long-term sustained growth."

Breaking through is crucial

There is a cruel truism in finance: "You've gotta have money, to make money".

Unless you buy a winning lottery ticket, you need to have tens of thousands of dollars for an initial investment, and the means to consistently top-up the "honey pot". You simply cannot make money by squirrelling away $2,000 and then walking away.

The same rule seems to apply to gender diversity at the board level.

As Ms McGrath explains, when a woman enjoys success on one board, other opportunities then open up.

"It is one of these things which, because you're working as part of a team, it is important that you have some credibility around a board table to get recommended and supported by your board colleagues for other board roles," she says.

"So breaking through that first appointment makes a significant difference for women."

The study also found the greater the percentage of female board members, the more comprehensive the reporting, hence the more accountability.

Dangers in forcing equality?

Despite the advantages of gender equality, billion-dollar fund manager Roger Montgomery said it would be a mistake to push or force gender equality. He said it should happen organically.

"There are a whole range of reasons why women are not on boards."

Mr Montgomery says it's not necessarily because we can't find enough women, and it's not necessarily because we don't want to see more women in the boardroom.

It's simply because circumstances might be that it's not appropriate, or even that a candidate given the opportunity doesn't want a seat at the table.

Mr Montgomery says he knows a female executive that declined a seat on the board because she viewed it as a token gesture.

The only way is up

Judging by the enthusiasm of women at this year's Business Chicks annual expo — the largest gathering of female entrepreneurs in the country — held last week in Sydney, there will be no shortage of business-savvy women looking to smash the glass ceiling in the years ahead.

"What you need to achieve real change is a truly committed chair and CEO," Australian Institute of Company Directors general manager Advocacy Louise Petschler says.

"Hopefully when we see more women in board roles, and indeed in senior leadership roles, there'll be more chairs and CEOs who have experienced the benefits diversity brings first-hand, and have themselves become committed to achieving change."